LAHTI, Finland (March 8) – In the opening day of the Lahti Ski Games, Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) finished seventh in the individual nordic combined event. He jumped into the seventh spot and was 34 seconds back in the cross country 10k, where he maintained his place in the top ten. Younger brother Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) jumped to 34th and was well over two minutes back for the 10k, but he was able to ski up to 19th after pumping out the second fastest cross country leg of the day. Nordic combined World Champion Eric Frenzel (Germany) took the top spot.

HIGHLIGHTS

Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) finished seventh in the individual nordic combined event in the Lahti Ski Games in Finland.

Bryan jumped to seventh and was 34 seconds back in the cross country 10k, where he secured his seventh place finish.

Bryan's brother, Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO), jumped to 34th and was over two minutes back for the 10k.

Taylor was able to ski up to 19th with the second fastest cross country leg of the day.

Nordic combined World Champion Eric Frenzel (Germany) took the top spot.

Friday was the opening day of Lahti Ski Games, a traditional nordic weekend in Lahti, Finland, located several hours north of Helsinki.

Saturday the Fletcher brothers as well as Adam Loomis (Eau Claire, WI) and Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) team up to compete in the team sprint.

QUOTESBryan FletcherToday was a solid day for me. I was able to put together a strong jump for the competition round and skied a smart race. Unfortunately I came up just a bit short on energy to be in the hunt for the podium. Regardless, I was happy with how everything went today.

Today was a bit humorous too. I seemed to tie something in nearly everything I did today. The first coincidence was that both Taylor and I tied in the provisional jump, not only in points but also in inrun speed too. The second coincidence is that seventh was the exact place that I finished last year here at this event. The third tie of the day was that I started the race 34 seconds back and also finished the race 34 seconds back. I found this quite entertaining throughout the day.

However after todays competition I am happy to come out and put down a solid performance heading into the last three events of the season. Tomorrow Taylor and I will be teamed up together for a Team Sprint event and hopefully we can put ourselves in good position to start the XC.

Taylor FletcherToday was a mixed bag type of day. I had a great provisional jump, which put me in a great position. Unfortunately I couldn't reproduce it in competition. It felt very good but just didn't have the power off the end, so I had no height.

Again racing is not the problem, I had another solid day and skied into points!

Tomorrow is a new day and I'm looking forward to racing with Bryan. It should be good!

Dave Jarrett, Head Coach U.S. Nordic Combined TeamSolid day for the Brothers Fletcher. Bryan was fighting for the podium but couldn't quite stay with Akito. Taylor was good on the jump in the PCR but couldn't match it in the competition jump. If it is too windy tomorrow I know both Bryan and Taylor will be psyched to use the PCR as well.